My poety and its influences

So lately I've been reading a lot of YA books *cough* Matched and Delirium *cough* that talk about poetry. I happen to really like poetry. There is something about it that really speaks to the heart of me. Maybe its the fact that most of the times its not just black and white. You have to unravel it to find the deeper meaning behind the words. Or maybe its that it always seems to be so intensely personal and full of emotion. I don't know. I just LOVE it. And I happen to write poetry in my spare time! I thought I would post a few poems of mine. Get some feedback from you guys. The funny thing about my poetry is that I can go through it and point out the poems that were influenced by different books I was reading at the time I wrote it. The biggest two being The Hunger Games and Ellen Hopkins. Its pretty interesting to see how these things influence my writing. Anyway here are a two of my poems that were influenced by The Hunger Games and Ellen Hopkins. I don't have names for either of them because, quite frankly, I suck at naming these things. I welcome suggestions! But anyway here they are. I hope you enjoy them!

What's the difference really?
Between what they've done
To us
And what we're doing
To them?
None.
Then why do I feel
That its so wrong?
When did we cross
The moral line
And how can I
See it
In the future?
And once I can
See it
How do I make them
See it too?
Because if we
Never stop
To think before we act.
If we lash out
In anger and hate.
We will become
No better
Than the monster
We are fighting against.

(written on 9/23/10)

If you couldn't tell this one was fairly Mockingjay influenced. Pretty much this was me processing the whole Gale situation. Namely his stance on doing whatever it took to help the rebellion win. And I think, like the book illustrates, when you do "whatever it takes" there are hidden consequences. People get hurt and you can morph into the very thing you are fighting to destroy.

Mind is fogged.
Can't think clearly.
My thoughts
Are not my own.
Or are they?
How do you
Tame the mind?
Reign it in
To something less
Wild
And
Degenerative?
How do you pull yourself away
From something you
Both like and hate?
Eating you away.
Torture and bliss.
The lines meet.
And suddenly
Right and wrong
Are smudged
And confused
For each other.
The heart deceives.
And yet we are told
Countless times
To listen.
But most often
What our heart desires most
Is for our own demise.

(written on 10/04/10)

Everything is telling us to "listen to our hearts." But seriously? Bad idea. At least in my opinion. I know that so often my heart desires things that aren't healthy. I may want it, but that doesn't mean its good for me to have it. This one was definitely Ellen Hopkins influenced. I'm guessing either Glass or Impulse.

Wow, so this post turned out to be pretty intense. I hope you guys liked it! I would love to hear any feedback you guys might have.

Julia :)